In the tradition of post-rock outfits like Tortoise, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tokyo’s Mono favors the hypnotic applications of tension and release. Combining aching melodies and dark undercurrents of distortion into a slow-building storm of thundering repetition, the formidable noise quartet seems determined to…
Once an irresistibly goofy Brit-pop trio with ungainly mutton-chop sideburns, Supergrass has reached a point of maturity where it finally seems more interested in studying the menu than in making goo-goo eyes at the waitress. On their fifth full-length, Oxford’s retro-groovers have outgrown monosyllabic teen anthems to embrace the emotional…
Not only does the Carioca Cafe boast an Eye Opener Special during its 7 a.m. happy hour (a Bloody Mary shot and a draw of Pabst for $2.25), but it’s also home to a jukebox that emphasizes honky-tonk. In honor of country icon Hank Williams, the rail-thin legend who fell…
From its remote base of operations near Questa, New Mexico, thirty miles north of Taos, Art of Flying specializes in a hazy and beautiful sound that thrives off the grid like a wild desert flower. Comprised of San Francisco transplant Dave Costanza, his wife, Anne, and longtime Portland musician Larry…
Highland Mountain Boys Johnny Crow needs to keep his good gal separate from his side gal. See, Sassy is the sort of jealous six-string who gets uppity and slips out of tune any time Johnny’s eye starts a-rovin’, especially in the direction of Classy, that twelve-string, home-wreckin’ hound bitch. But…
Reed expert Marshall Allen took over as bandleader for the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra in 1995. In its current fourteen-piece road act, the Ark still draws inspiration from ancient Egypt and science fiction. By phone from the late Ra’s house in Philadelphia, Allen, 81, discusses his old boss, space travel…
When a golfing oil baron masquerades as a national leader, someone’s got to do something to help out the folks in Louisiana and Mississippi. Now transformed into a benefit for hurricane relief, the End of Summer Outlaw Music Festival, slated for Saturday, September 10, at the Ogden Theatre, has broadened…
Given the godforsaken cold that grips Calgary, it’s little wonder that Alberta named her professional hockey team the Flames. For Canuck Chad VanGaalen, any sanity not otherwise found busking the streets likely took place in the warmth of the basement — building pianos, saxophones, clarinets, violins and various found-object munitions…
Beatmaker Elvin Estella, otherwise known as Nobody, made a ripple in the mix-tape underground ten years ago, becoming a frequent Prefuse 73 collaborator and Mars Volta tourmate by the time his second full-length dropped. But where Pacific Drift: Western Water Music Vol. 1 found the mixologist revisiting his hip-hop roots…
Late-’60s Brit rocker Terry Reid was Jimmy Page’s first choice to sing for Led Zeppelin. Now 57, the legendary band’s unsung architect (who also passed on the chance to front Deep Purple) lives in Palm Desert, California. Reid, whose latest disc, Superlungs, is being released this week on Astralwerks, took…
We’re an all-lesbian band if you need to label us, but we don’t go out promoting that,” says Laura Coleman, drummer for folk-blues power trio the Dearly Beloved. “The whole gay thing is pretty minor. As far as I know, this is the only all-female band in town, but we…
FRI, 9/2 Boston-based saxophonist Ken Field makes grown-up sounds for idiosyncratic outfits such as Birdsongs of the Mesozoic and the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, whose 2003 disc, Year of the Snake, is like a particularly wild visit to Bourbon Street. Yet tots know his work, too, thanks to his contributions to…
Like a remedy to the mopier aspects of college radio, Buffalo’s Bloody Hollies bring back some of the speed and urgency otherwise sacrificed for dull introspection from journal-keepers in cardigans. Loud, raw, stripped-down punk, rockabilly and garage blues are the calling cards for this trio of former art school students…
Chicken-fried metal gets a fresh coat of grease from the four fiery West Texans in SuperHeavyGoatAss. These Lubbock-bred headbangers straddle the barbed wire between ZZ Top’s shit-kicking boogie and the stoner sludge of Black Sabbath. Ear-splitting, unaffected riff rock with ominous bass tones patch together extended meditations on Lone Star…
For a bunch of British and Welsh expatriates who never meant to be a band, the Waco Brothers have just issued their seventh disc for the same label — a feat deserving honorable mention in today’s age of drive-thru weddings and duplicitous record deals. Unfortunately, the sardonic country side project…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature led a climactic dogsled chase through Antarctica. For the fun-loving bugaboos taking part in Denver’s Monster Bike Rally, however, the preferred mode of transport is a pedal-powered two-wheeler, ridden in far more pleasant weather. “We’ve tried to do a Halloween ride a few times,”…
From its sheepish little corner of the stable, Mutton kicks up enough noise to run with the bulls. But judging from both its debut disc, Organicism, and the follow-up EP, The Other Red Meat, the Denver-based trio seems just as happy to chew its cud in loving tribute to Minneapolis…
An intriguing side project that joins the laconic talents of Low’s Alan Sparhawk and Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek, the Retribution Gospel Choir would seem to gravitate toward the grayer tones of the color spectrum. Then again, the band only recently formed and hasn’t released a single song together. Even…
Part of the West Coast honor roll from the gangsta class of ’91, DJ Quik made a name for himself with “Born and Raised in Compton” and “Tonight,” a pair of top-twenty hits from his debut album, Quik Is the Name. More renowned for his skills behind the soundboard than…
Depending on cultural stigma, a person born with albinism can end up being regarded as a divine messenger or someone who belongs in a circus sideshow exhibit. For Jamaican Winston Foster, this rare pigment deficiency (estimated to occur in one in every 17,000 people) invited hostility and scorn to a…
Joel Peterson, aka Broken Spindles, logs plenty of miles as the full-time bassist for Beep Beep and retro-dance supergroup the Faint. As a minimal solo artist, the Omaha native also makes time before and after shows for what seems to be his favorite pastime: self-interrogation. In this third installment of…
My intention is to play music full-time, not run a restaurant,” says Johnny James Qualley. “But I love this place so much that when the opportunity arose, I just couldn’t pass it up.” It’s a bright Monday afternoon between the lunch and dinner rush at Appaloosa Grill, an upscale but…
